Consider what defeated, former President Donald Trump told Maria Bartiromo on her FOX News program "Sunday Morning Futures" yesterday:
I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within, not even the people that have come in and destroying our country, by the way, totally destroying our country, the towns, the villages, they’re being inundated.
We have some very bad people. We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics. I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.
Trump doesn't specifically define this "enemy from within", these "very bad people", "sick people" or whom he deems to be "radical left lunatics". Nor does he tell us what crimes the aforementioned groups have committed.
Whomever they might be and whatever they might have done, Trump thinks they ought to be "handled" by the National Guard or the military.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Fascism 101, and it could very well be what Trump does should he return to the White House and become a dictator on day one starting with suspending (or as Trump has put it "terminate") the Constitution.
But what would it say about us if we see fit to return Trump to the White House once more notwithstanding his open call about utilizing military forces against our fellow citizens for holding views contrary to his own?
It would tell me that we as Americans have given up on democracy.
Most Americans have lived their lives as free people. Meaning they have never lived in either an authoritarian or a totalitarian regime. Democracy is all they have ever known, and they would like to try something else.
There are a great many people who are unsatisfied with their lot in life be it in a material, spiritual, familial or perhaps simply believe their destiny is not their own. I suspect many of these people have asked themselves, "What has democracy ever done for me?"
These are also people who want easy answers and the man giving the easy answers is Donald Trump up to and including pledging to be a dictator and dealing with "the enemy within." Some Americans will get pleasure out of Trump dealing with these enemies, real or imagined. However, I bet some of these Americans aren't counting on Trump turning his ire against them.
Of course, once one "chooses" dictatorship you cannot "choose" to go back because "choice" ceases to be. What we will have "chosen" is to learn the hard way. Dictatorships mean death. Lots of death. Mostly innocent people.
Mind you, more than 1 million Americans died of COVID and a great many of us not only haven't learned but believe Dr. Fauci and other public health officials committed "crimes against humanity".I shudder to think how many millions of people would needlessly be killed under a Trump dictatorship before we collectively ask ourselves, "What have we done? What can we do to stop it?"
However, it would be a state of affairs we have brought upon ourselves by choosing Trump knowing full well what he intends to do. Perhaps we do get the government we deserve.
Yet for the moment we still have a choice.
We can still choose to elect Kamala Harris as our next President.
Should we choose Kamala Harris in 2024 we are under no obligation to choose her in 2028.
Should we choose Donald Trump in 2024 the choice might not be ours to make in 2028.
If you think democracy is a good thing then there is only one choice that we have in 2024.
A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for democracy.
A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for dictatorship.
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